1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an electric vehicle, a charging stand and a communication system therebetween and, more particularly, to an electric vehicle, a charging stand and a communication system therebetween, configured to more precisely determine a charge preparation state of the electric vehicle before a battery of the electric vehicle is charged.
2. Description of the Related Art
As fossil energy is being exhausted and environmental pollution becomes serious in recent years, an interest in an electric vehicle using electric energy in place of the fossil energy or a hybrid vehicle is increasing, whereby research into the electric vehicle or the hybrid vehicle is being actively carried out. The electric vehicle or the hybrid vehicle requires electric energy to drive a motor of the vehicle, and the electric energy is supplied through a battery.
The battery for the electric vehicle or the hybrid vehicle largely uses a secondary battery that may repeat a discharging operation converting chemical energy into electric energy and a charging operation converting electric energy into chemical energy. The secondary battery includes a nickel-cadmium battery, a nickel-hydride battery, a lithium-ion battery, a lithium-ion polymer battery, etc. Such a secondary battery is classified into a lithium-based battery and a nickel-hydride-based battery. The lithium-based battery is largely applied to a small product, such as a digital camera, a P-DVD, an MP3P, a mobile phone, a PDA, a portable game device, a power tool or an E-bike, while the nickel-hydride-based battery is largely applied to a large product requiring a high output, such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. Korean government made a statement about a plan for mass production of an electric vehicle in 2011. Thus, a rapid increase in demand for the electric vehicle is expected.
Meanwhile, the electric vehicle may be charged in a parking lot of a workplace or home as well as a charging station. Since the electric vehicle is driven using electric energy stored in the battery, the battery must be frequently charged during travel. Thereby, it is especially important to safely and precisely perform a battery charging operation between the electric vehicle and an EV charging stand. To this end, a communication system is required to precisely transceive information on whether a charge preparation step has been successfully performed before a battery charging operation is performed between the charging stand and the electric vehicle.